 "In 1996, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became prime minister of India. Though his first term was short-lived, Vajpayee would go on to become one of India’s most famous and accomplished leaders.")
Today (June 25) marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.
The Emergency, widely considered the darkest days of India’s Independence, was imposed on June 25, 1975 by then then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Though emergencies had been declared in the past – in 1961 during the war with Pakistan and in 1971 in the war with China – this one was different.
Politicians, writers and intellectuals jailed, the press clamped down on and rights of the common man suspended.
The Emergency would last long 21 months till March 1977.
It ended with Indira being swept out of office and Morarji Desai coming to power as Prime Minister of the Janata Party-led government – the first non-Congress PM of the country.
Let’s take a closer look at how a new breed of politicians rose during the Emergency.
Jayaprakash Narayan
JP Narayan, also known as JP or Lok Nayak, was arguably the most important political figure of the Emergency.
This without him ever once contesting political office.
Narayan, a socialist politician, fought for India’s freedom against the British alongside stalwarts such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
While he was close to Nehru, Narayan slowly began distancing himself from Indira.
The irrevocable split occurred after Indira was found guilty of electoral malpractices by the Allahabad High Court.
Narayan was among those who demanded that Indira resign.
His call for Sampoorna Kraanti or “total revolution” shook the foundations of Indira’s government.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNarayan, who called for a satyagraha at his famed speech at the Ramlila Ground rally in Delhi, stirred many into joining politics for the first time.
Narayan was jailed at the outlet of the Emergency and released only when his health began failing.
The Janata Party he helped form swept into power in 1977.
However, Narayan would pass away just two short years later on
Raj Narain
Narain was arguably the man who set things in motion.
After all, it was Narain, known as Lok Bandhu, whose disputed his loss to Indira Gandhi in Rae Bareli in 1971.
The Allahabad High Court, siding with Narain, struck down Indira’s win and barred her from contesting polls for over half a decade – though she remained prime minister.
Narain was among the many leaders arrested during the Emergency.
Narain would ultimately get the laugh last over Indira – defeating her in the Rae Bareli election in 1977.
Narain would pass away in December 31, 1986.
“As long as a person like Raj Narain is in this country, dictatorship can’t grow here,” Ram Manohar Lohia said about Narain.
Morarji Desai
Desai made history as India’s first non-Congress Prime Minister.
Desai, a former Congress member, had been viewed by some as a successor to Nehru in whose Cabinet he had served.
Though he served as deputy prime minister under Indira, he resigned after being removed as the finance minister.
Desai joined the breakaway group known as Congress (O) after the split in the party.
Desai, who was arrested during the Emergency, was held in solitary confinement.
He would go on to join the Janata Party – and we know the rest.
However, just two years later, the Janata Party coalition began coming undone.
He was awarded India’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1991.
He died in 1995 after a lifetime of staunch commitment to Gandhian principles.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Vajpayee, a member of the RSS, had joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1954.
By 1975, he had served in both Houses of Parliament.
He was among the first to protest the Emergency and among the first opposition politicians jailed.
He would spend the entire Emergency in prison.
Afterwards, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh joined the coalition that formed the Janata Party.
In 1979, when the Janata Party was falling apart, Vajpayee was chosen as the president of the BJS – which lay claim to the mantle of the “real Janata Party.”
The Jana Sangh would later transform into the Bharatiya Janata Party – of which Vajpayee would be the first president.
Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha as a BJP member in 1991.
In 1996, Vajpayee became prime minister of India.
Though his first term was short-lived, Vajpayee would go on to become one of India’s most famous and accomplished leaders.
Vajpayee retired from active politics in 2005.
He would be awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2015.
He died in 2018 at age 93.
LK Advani
Advani had served as the BJS president from 1973 to 1977 – when it joined the coalition to form the Janata Party.
Arrested shortly after the Emergency was imposed, he was sent to Bengaluru’s central jail.
The Emergency’s most famous quote, “when asked to bend, they began to crawl," was attributed to LK Advani.
Advani would go on to join Vajpayee as one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He was one of the men on whose backs the BJP became a national political force.
Though he would serve as home minister and deputy prime minister of India, he never got the top job.
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 and the Bharat Ratna in 2024.
George Fernandes
Fernandes was a trade unionist and socialist leader.
His foray into politics began in 1967 when he defeated Congress leader SK Patil.
The highlight of his political career came during the Emergency when he was forced to go on the run.
Fernandes disguised himself as a fisherman and a Sikh to evade capture.
He was ultimately arrested in June 1976 and lodged in Tihar Jail.
In 1977, when elections were finally held, Fernandes ran from jail and won.
He served as industry minister in the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government.
Fernandes passed away in January 2019.
He was 88-years-old.
Fernandes received a posthumous Padma Vibhushan.
Mulayam Singh Yadav
By the time the Emergency was declared, Yadav was part of the Bharatiya Lok Dal.
By now, he had served in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
He was one of several opposition politicians swept up and arrested by the Indira regime in 1975.
Yadav, who spent 19 months in prison, later became minister of state in 1977 in the Janata Dal government.
He would also go on to repeatedly serve as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
He would also form the Samajwadi Party.
Yadav passed away in 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condoling his death, described him as a ‘key soldier’ for democracy during the Emergency.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Yadav was among those who joined JP’s protests against the Indira regime.
Like the other politicians, he too was jailed during the Emergency – but would emerge stronger for the experience.
Yadav would go on to form the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), serve as Bihar’s chief minister twice and work as the railway minister in the UPA coalition government.
With inputs from agencies